Thursday, 12 February 2015

DIY VALENTINES IDEAS . . .

As you may know about me, I've always had a bit of a hatred of Valentines day and that's not really changed that much since I stopped being single. However, I do like any excuse to eat chocolate and drink wine, so I find V-day can be a very good excuse for that!

I also have found I like to flex my (somewhat limited) creative skills a bit and things like Valentines and anniversaries come in very handy here. Because they HAVE to like it if you've made it, don't they? Or at least PRETEND to like it...
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﻿﻿So last year, if you remember, I made the boyfriend a mix-tape cd for Valentines day. It went over well. I was inspired after browsing through Valentines gift ideas on gift websites, seeing a seller who would make the mix-tape for you and realising I could try and do it myself. Very very easy - just buy a cd, find a way to download your songs onto the cd, and pick your songs.

I went for what would seem like the casual listener to be a rather random selection, but they were all songs which either meant something to us, or tied into a memory. Probably not particularly romantic - "The Postman Pat" theme song and "My Lovely Horse" from Father Ted featured on this one - but trust me, it all tied in to our memories as a couple (such as the boyfriend telling me on our first date about how him and his friend broke a bed by jumping on it singing "Postman Pat" when they saw one outside the window on holiday!). But anyway, you can choose whatever works for you! I definitely recommend this as a gift idea. I also enjoyed doing the "artwork"! ;-)

Another cute little gift idea, which I used for our one year anniversary, is a "Things I Love About You" book. I did 52 things for the 52 weeks we'd been together (blurgh, I know!). It was really easy to make, just involving a pack of playing cards, some binder rings, and some other arts and crafts materials. I loved making this.

And while you're at it, here's an even simpler idea... make them a gift voucher for a massage. Given by you of course! (Unless you're as bad at massage as Monica from "Friends" obviously.)

(Speaking of "Friends", you could always make a sock bunny. If your other half is a "Friends" fan, I suppose it would go over well. I did consider it myself...)

Other little DIY ideas I've spotted online which I think would make great gifts?

I happened across these little cards on Lauren Conrad's website the other day, and they are adorable! Cute and punny... an ideal combination. Plus if you have no time to make anything more elaborate - or buy a card (which reminds me, I haven't yet. Oops. *logs onto moonpig.com immediately*)

I also love this idea of 12 Pre-planned date ideas, one for each month. Easy to do, and doesn't involve THAT much artistic skills, if you feel you might be lacking these. You just need some inspiration on what the dates should be. (Handy hint though: voucher websites like wowcher and itison would probably help provide some great ideas!) One of the reasons I also love this idea is because it 1) gets you out and about as a couple and 2) you get to enjoy the fruits of your hard work too! Selfish perhaps, but who isn't a little bit selfish?!? ;-)

This also really tickled me - a popcorn date package This idea has to be one of the cutest gifts ever. And check out how pretty the package is. Love it.

Or how about an exploding love box? (This sounds dirty but it actually isn't. Although maybe that's just my dirty mind...) This sort of doubles as a card and a gift in one! I love this idea, although fear my artistic skills might let me down if I attempted it.

If you are looking to try out some sort of DIY project for your love, then hopefully these will help you out with some ideas - I also recommend Pinterest for helping you get some inspiration. That's where I find most of mine!

And, if you are thinking "well, why wait until NOW to put this post up, V-day is only 2 days away, I can't make something in THAT time" - well just remember that any day can be Valentines day and maybe your other half would appreciate a lovely surprise like one of the above suggestions on ANY day of the year. In fact . . . won't it be even more of a surprise then? ;-)

If you were going to make a Valentine's day gift, what would you make?